China Group Asserts That It Bombed Buses

BEIJING, July 26 -- A group calling itself the Turkestan Islamic Party has released a video asserting responsibility for deadly bus bombings last week in China's western Yunnan province and other recent incidents, and threatening attacks during the Olympic Games.

The Chinese government, which has warned that terrorism is the biggest threat to the Olympics and has mounted a massive security effort, played down the group's claims, some of which were inconsistent with details of the incidents.

Police officials in Yunnan and in Shanghai, where a bus explosion in May killed three people, said there was no evidence the two attacks were connected to terrorists, state media reported.

In the video, a man identified as Commander Seyfullah says the group aims "to target the most critical points related to the Olympics."

"We will try to attack Chinese central cities severely, using the tactics that have never been employed," he says, according to a translation provided by IntelCenter, a terrorism research firm based in Alexandria, Va.

Terrorism experts believe that the group is the same as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, an underground separatist organization in the Xinjiang region of western China, which advocates independence for the area's Muslim Uighur inhabitants. China often warns of the danger posed by the group, though some experts say the government exaggerates the threat as an excuse to suppress dissent against Chinese rule.

Xinjiang police say they have broken up five separatist groups this year and arrested 82 people on suspicion of plotting against the Games, which open in two weeks. Last month, the government executed three people identified as members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement.

Experts are divided on the veracity of the group's assertions and its ability to make good on its threats.

Li Wei, director of the Center for Counter-Terrorism Studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, said the group is "not capable of launching different attacks in different cities in China. I think they just wanted to increase their influence and attract more funding by claiming responsibility."

Rohan Kumar Gunaratna, a terrorism expert based in Singapore who has advised the Chinese government, said the East Turkestan Islamic Movement has about 40 fighters who have trained with al-Qaeda in Pakistan. Those members are the most dangerous, said Gunaratna, who recently traveled to Xinjiang to assess the terrorism threat. He added that the group is also focused on creating local terrorist cells to stage smaller incidents.

"China has invested very significantly in protecting the Olympic venues," Gunaratna said. "No terrorist group can mount large-scale attacks in Beijing during this period, but medium to small attacks are possible."

In the video, Seyfullah, whose name means "sword of God" in Arabic, is dressed in olive-drab fatigues, his nose and mouth covered by a white scarf. He is flanked by two gun-toting men in black masks. The video is titled "Our Blessed Jihad in Yunnan."